U.S. patent application number 13/644931 was filed with the patent office on 2013-01-31 for systems and methods for identifying items of collateral available to a consumer pursuant to pre-qualified finance terms that are consistent with consumer specified payment criteria.
The applicant listed for this patent is Brian S. Clifton, Everett E. Platt, Tarry E. Shebesta. Invention is credited to Brian S. Clifton, Everett E. Platt, Tarry E. Shebesta.
Application Number | 20130030985 13/644931 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47598056 |
Filed Date | 2013-01-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130030985 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shebesta; Tarry E. ; et
al. |
January 31, 2013 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING ITEMS OF COLLATERAL AVAILABLE
TO A CONSUMER PURSUANT TO PRE-QUALIFIED FINANCE TERMS THAT ARE
CONSISTENT WITH CONSUMER SPECIFIED PAYMENT CRITERIA
Abstract
Customers are provided with item search results that take into
account both item specifications submitted by the customer and
payment specifications submitted by the customer, where
satisfaction of the payment specifications includes identifying
finance programs for which the customer is pre-qualified and that
are available for given items.
Inventors: |
Shebesta; Tarry E.;
(Maineville, OH) ; Clifton; Brian S.;
(Williamsburg, OH) ; Platt; Everett E.; (Florence,
TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Shebesta; Tarry E.
Clifton; Brian S.
Platt; Everett E. |
Maineville
Williamsburg
Florence |
OH
OH
TX |
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
47598056 |
Appl. No.: |
13/644931 |
Filed: |
October 4, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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13090179 |
Apr 19, 2011 |
|
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13644931 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/38 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 40/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/38 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 40/02 20120101
G06Q040/02 |
Claims
1. A method for generating search results for a customer that take
into account customer pre-qualification for financing, the method
comprising: (a) obtaining customer desired or acceptable
specification information related to an item desired by a customer;
(b) obtaining identification information for the customer; (c)
obtaining customer desired or acceptable payment information for
the item desired by the customer, including customer desired or
acceptable periodic payment information; (c) obtaining credit
information related to the customer from a credit data provider
based at least in part upon the customer identification
information; (d) searching one or more databases to (i) identify
items of collateral, if any, that satisfy the customer desired or
acceptable specification information and (ii) identify finance
programs, if any, that are available for the identified items of
collateral; (e) based upon the results of the searching step and
the customer desired or acceptable periodic payment information, a
computer system determining which, if any, of the identified items
of collateral of step (d)(i) are available for purchase or lease by
the customer pursuant to financing terms (i) for which the customer
is pre-qualified and (ii) that satisfy the customer desired or
acceptable periodic payment information; and (f) presenting the
customer with information regarding one or more of the identified
items of collateral determined in step (e) to be available for
purchase or lease by the customer pursuant to financing terms (i)
for which the customer is pre-qualified and (ii) that satisfy the
customer desired or acceptable periodic payment information.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein step (f) includes providing the
customer with both item specification information for the items of
collateral and periodic payment information for the specific items
of collateral.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the customer desired or acceptable
payment information includes customer desired or acceptable payment
duration.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein step (f) includes providing the
customer with payment duration information for the items of
collateral.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining trade-in
information regarding a trade-in to be provided by the customer;
and taking into account reduced prices of the identified items of
collateral when performing step (e).
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the credit data provider is a
credit service bureau.
7. The method of claim 2 wherein in step (f) the customer is
provided with periodic payment information for multiple finance
options available to the customer for at least one item of
collateral.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the customer desired or acceptable
payment information includes customer desired or acceptable down
payment information.
9. A system for generating search results for a customer that take
into account customer pre-qualification for financing, the system
comprising: (a) a computer system with memory and one or more
associated processors for operating a vendor web site; (b) an
add-on module stored in the memory and including code to carry out
the following steps: (1) obtaining customer desired or acceptable
specification information related to an item desired by a customer;
(2) obtaining identification information for the customer; (3)
obtaining customer desired or acceptable payment information for
the item desired by the customer, including customer desired or
acceptable periodic payment information; (4) initiating a query to
obtain credit information related to the customer from a credit
data provider based at least in part upon the customer
identification information; (5) initiating a query to search one or
more databases to (i) identify items of collateral, if any, that
satisfy the customer desired or acceptable specification
information and (ii) identify finance programs, if any, that are
available for the identified items of collateral; (6) based upon
the results of the searching step and the customer desired or
acceptable periodic payment information, determining which, if any,
of the identified items of collateral of step (b)(5)(i) are
available for purchase or lease by the customer pursuant to
financing terms (i) for which the customer is pre-qualified and
(ii) that satisfy the customer desired or acceptable periodic
payment information; and (7) presenting the customer with
information regarding one or more of the identified items of
collateral determined in step (6) to be available for purchase or
lease by the customer pursuant to financing terms (i) for which the
customer is pre-qualified and (ii) that satisfy the customer
desired or acceptable periodic payment information.
10. A computer program product for generating search results for a
customer that take into account customer pre-qualification for
financing, the product comprising: (a) a computer program storage
medium; and (b) a module stored on the storage medium and including
code to carry out the following steps: (1) obtaining customer
desired or acceptable specification information related to an item
desired by a customer; (2) obtaining identification information for
the customer; (3) obtaining customer desired or acceptable payment
information for the item desired by the customer, including
customer desired or acceptable periodic payment information; (4)
initiating a query to obtain credit information related to the
customer from a credit data provider based at least in part upon
the customer identification information; (5) initiating a query to
search one or more databases to (i) identify items of collateral,
if any, that satisfy the customer desired or acceptable
specification information and (ii) identify finance programs, if
any, that are available for the identified items of collateral; (6)
based upon the results of the searching step and the customer
desired or acceptable periodic payment information, determining
which, if any, of the identified items of collateral of step
(b)(5)(i) are available for purchase or lease by the customer
pursuant to financing terms (i) for which the customer is
pre-qualified and (ii) that satisfy the customer desired or
acceptable periodic payment information; and (7) presenting the
customer with information regarding one or more of the identified
items of collateral determined in step (6) to be available for
purchase or lease by the customer pursuant to financing terms (i)
for which the customer is pre-qualified and (ii) that satisfy the
customer desired or acceptable periodic payment information.
11. The product of claim 10 wherein the computer program storage
medium comprises memory within a computer processing system.
12. The product of claim 10 wherein the computer program storage
medium comprises a transportable data storage medium such as
magnetic storage medium or an optical storage medium.
13. A system that generates search results for a customer that take
into account customer pre-qualification for financing, comprising:
means for obtaining customer desired or acceptable specification
information related to an item desired by a customer; means for
obtaining identification information for the customer; means for
obtaining customer desired or acceptable payment information for
the item desired by the customer, including customer desired or
acceptable periodic payment information; means for obtaining credit
information related to the customer from a credit data provider
based at least in part upon the customer identification
information; means for searching one or more databases to (i)
identify items of collateral, if any, that satisfy the customer
desired or acceptable specification information and (ii) identify
finance programs, if any, that are available for the identified
items of collateral; means for determining which, if any, of the
identified items of collateral are available for purchase or lease
by the customer pursuant to financing terms (i) for which the
customer is pre-qualified and (ii) that satisfy the customer
desired or acceptable periodic payment information; and means for
presenting the customer with information regarding one or more
identified items of collateral determined to be available for
purchase or lease by the customer pursuant to financing terms (i)
for which the customer is pre-qualified and (ii) that satisfy the
customer desired or acceptable periodic payment information.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/090,179, filed Apr. 19, 2011, which is
incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The subject matter described herein relates to generation of
finance offers and/or item search results that take into account
available finance offers.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Many consumers finance significant purchases, arranging
credit to spread payments out over a period of time. For example,
the majority of home, car or boat purchasers arrange financing to
pay for such purchases. There is a significant market in providing
credit or loans to such consumers. Facilitating marketing of such
is advantageous to those parties who are willing to make such
loans, as well as to consumers desiring to obtain credit for
purchases.
SUMMARY
[0004] The present system, method process and device for generating
finance offers facilitates financial transactions and assists
consumers in obtaining financing. The following brief summary
section is provided to facilitate a basic understanding of the
nature and capabilities of the present system and method. This
summary section is not an extensive nor comprehensive overview and
is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the present
systems or methods or to delineate the scope of these items. Rather
this brief summary is intended to provide a conceptual introduction
in simplified form as an introduction for the more detailed
description presented later in this document.
[0005] In an embodiment, the system and method described herein
provide for generating pre-qualified finance offers via the
Internet. Customer identifying information is used to obtain credit
information related to customer creditworthiness. The system and
method utilizes the credit information as well as information
regarding the item in which the consumer has expressed an interest
(e.g., item price) to identify one or more finance offers for which
the consumer is prequalified in real time. These finance offers are
presented to the consumer and may also be provided to the vendor of
the item in which the consumer has expressed an interest.
[0006] In other aspects of the systems and methods, finance offers
are generated based at least in part upon the credit information,
available finance programs and/or one or more additional factors.
Such additional factors can include availability and condition of a
trade-in, manufacturer incentives, dealer or vendor incentives, and
value of the item as collateral.
[0007] In another embodiment, a method involves obtaining customer
desired or acceptable specification information related to an item
desired by a customer, obtaining customer desired or acceptable
payment information for the item desired by the customer, including
customer desired or acceptable periodic payment information,
searching one or more data stores to (i) identify items of
collateral, if any, that satisfy the customer desired or acceptable
specification information and (ii) identify finance programs, if
any, that are available for the identified items of collateral, and
determining which, if any, of the identified items of collateral
are available for purchase or lease by the customer pursuant to
financing terms (i) for which the customer is pre-qualified and
(ii) that satisfy the customer desired or acceptable periodic
payment information.
[0008] The details of one or more embodiments of system and method
for generation of finance offers are set forth in the accompanying
drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and
advantages will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in
the art from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0009] The present invention is described with reference to the
accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers
indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally,
the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the
drawings in which the reference number first appears.
[0010] FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of an embodiment of a system
that generates pre-qualified finance offers.
[0011] FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of another embodiment of a
system that generates pre-qualified finance offers.
[0012] FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of a user interface for a
system that generates pre-qualified finance offers.
[0013] FIG. 4 depicts another embodiment of a user interface for a
system that generates pre-qualified finance offers.
[0014] FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting an embodiment of a method
for presenting finance offers in accordance with the systems
described herein.
[0015] FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary computer system that can be used
to implement the systems and methods described herein.
[0016] FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary computing environment for the
protocol interface system.
[0017] FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting an embodiment of a method
for presenting collateral items that satisfy a customer's desired
payment requirements, taking into account finance offers for which
the customer is qualified.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] Frequently customers are unable to afford to pay for
products out of pocket and require financing to afford more costly
goods and services, such as cars, boats, homes, electronic systems
and the like. Facilitating financing offers on terms specific to
the credit-worthiness of the customer reduces the inconvenience to
customers in obtaining credit and increases the likelihood of a
sale. The increased popularity of Internet or electronic commerce
has seen users become more and more comfortable with researching
products, shopping and entering into and completing transactions
electronically. In embodiments, the systems and methods described
herein allow customers to obtain financing offers via the Internet,
including purchase money financing, encouraging commerce and
facilitating transactions, including sales, leases and the
like.
[0019] As described in further detail below, in multiple
embodiments, systems and methods for generating pre-qualified
finance offers are fully or partially integrated with a retailer or
vendor's website. By incorporating, at least in part, the system
into a vendor web page, potential buyers are able to view the
particular finance options available to them and for which they are
pre-qualified. As used herein, the term "pre-qualified" indicates
that a determination has been made that the potential customer is
credit worthy and financially able to qualify for a particular
financial offer. Embodiments of the described systems and methods
are capable of providing finance offers to potential buyers in
real-time. This streamlines the transaction process for potential
buyers and eliminates obstacles to vendor sales.
[0020] In embodiments, the described systems and methods provide
real-time, approval of financing and specific financial offer terms
to a customer. The customer's pre-qualified status can also be
communicated to the vendor of the goods or services which the
customer wishes to acquire. Pre-qualified status facilitates the
transaction, allowing both the vendor and the customer to be sure
that the customer can obtain financing for a transaction, and
presenting the customer with terms of the financing upfront,
allowing the customer to make an educated purchase decision.
[0021] FIG. 1 depicts a high-level block diagram of an embodiment
of a system 100 that generates pre-qualified finance offers. In an
embodiment, a customer 102 provides input to the system 100,
including but not limited to, customer identifying information
(e.g., name, contact information, address information or any other
information that may be used in identification of an individual or
entity). In embodiments, the system 100 utilizes the provided
customer identifying information to obtain customer credit
information, including credit scores or any other indicia of the
customer's creditworthiness or the customer's current or future
ability to repay financed costs. In embodiments, the system 100
obtains such credit information from one or more credit data
providers 104. For example, the system 100 can obtain a credit
score from a credit bureau using the customer identifying
information. Although a single credit data provider 104 is
illustrated in FIG. 1, any number of credit data providers 104 may
provide credit information. For example, the system 100 can obtain
credit scores from multiple credit bureaus, such as Experian,
TransUnion and Equifax.
[0022] In embodiments, the system 100 obtains information regarding
an item or items which the customer desires to purchase, lease or
otherwise acquire by financing the cost of the purchase. Although
many of the examples described herein refer to sales transactions,
embodiments of the system 100 are also capable of handling leasing,
rental or other transaction types and are not limited solely to
sales. For example, a leasing agency, either separate from or
affiliated with the item vendor, provides a lease option to the
consumer 102 that is a structured in a manner where the lessor
retains title in the leased goods and the consumer 102 obtains a
lease to the item in exchange for regular payments. This sort of
transaction is akin to a financed purchase in that the lessor has
an interest in minimizing credit risk posed by the consumer 102
while the vendor of the item wishes to facilitate the sale of the
item. As used herein, the parties providing financing to the
consumer 102 to facilitate the transaction may provide a variety of
different financing options, including without limitations purchase
money financing, un-secured financing, leases, rentals, and
rent-to-own, among other options.
[0023] As used herein, an item can be any good or service,
including but not limited to a car, truck, boat, house, or
electronic good or services, such as installing windows, repainting
a house or renting an apartment. Such items may serve as collateral
for the financing, and are also referred to herein as the
collateral. Item information can include an item description or
identifier, price, resale value, discounts or sales incentives,
predicted depreciation or any other information related to the item
or items relevant to generation of a financing offer related to the
transaction. The item information can also include the terms of the
proposed transaction or transactions. For example, item information
can indicate that the transaction is a sale, lease or rental.
[0024] In further embodiments, the item information can include
related items, products or services that may be sold with the item
selected by the customer 102. For example, in the context of car
sales, dealers generally offer back-end sales products, such as a
guaranteed asset protection (GAP) or insurance products, extended
warranties, maintenance plans or any other products or services
offered to customers. If elected by the customer 102, such back-end
products or services can be incorporated in the total cost for
which financing is sought.
[0025] In further embodiments, the system 100 obtains finance
information from one or more finance providers 108. Finance
providers 108 may include, but are not limited to, vendors,
retailers, product manufacturers, financial institutions, and/or
leasing companies. Finance information can include, but is not
limited to, terms (e.g., length of repayment, interest rate),
restrictions, rebates or other incentives. For example, a finance
provider 108 may offer different terms based upon indicia of the
customer's creditworthiness, such as credit score. Frequently,
customers that are perceived as a higher risk of defaulting upon
financing are charged increased interest rates to offset such risk.
Use of independent credit information allows the finance provider
108 to better estimate the risk involved in offering financing to
the customer 102 and set the terms accordingly.
[0026] In embodiments, the system 100 utilizes a combination of one
or more of the credit information, item information and finance
information to pre-qualify a customer 102 for one or more financial
offers. In further embodiments, one or more financing offers from
one or more finance providers 108 are presented to the customer 102
for review and possible selection. Furthermore, the financing
offers or offer can be provided to the item vendor 106 as well.
Confirmation that a potential customer 102 has obtained
pre-qualified financing makes the customer 102 attractive to a
vendor 106, facilitating the potential transaction.
[0027] FIG. 2 depicts another embodiment of the system 100, also
referred to herein as a Pre-qualified Payment System ("PPS") that
allows finance providers 108 to market finance programs over a
network, such as the internet 200. As shown, a potential customer
102 accesses a vendor web page or site 206 via a network, such as
the internet via a personal computer, tablet, smartphone or any
other device 202 capable of accessing a website. In embodiments,
the PPS includes a vendor plug-in or add-on module 204 that can be
incorporated in, or used with the vendor's web site. In another
embodiment, the vendor add-on module 204, also referred to herein
as the add-on, includes software code that generates a user
interface for a customer 102 to interact with the system 100. The
add-on 204 can provide a customer selectable button or feature on
which a customer can `click` or otherwise select to view additional
financing information and offers. For example, while reviewing a
vendor's product information on the vendor's web site 206, the
vendor web page 206 can include the system add-on 204. In this
embodiment, the add-on 204 appears embedded in the vendor's web
site 206. The add-on 204 can include an html hyper-link or similar
web-based link to the remainder of the PPS 100. In other
embodiments, the add-on 204 contains a calculated payment based at
least in part on one or more of the customer data, the credit
information, the finance program data, and the collateral data
relevant to the webpage 206 where the add-on 102 resides. In still
other embodiments, the add-on 204 includes executable code that
queries other sources via the internet 200 and presents information
to the user 102 in a form compatible with the web page 206 and
facilitates interactions with the user 102.
[0028] Referring now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of a user interface
for an add-on 204 as incorporated in a vendor website 206 is
illustrated. Here, the vendor website 206 displays product,
collateral or item information, including pictures, descriptions,
images, testimonials or any other vendor information. The exemplary
add-on 204 is presented as a box within the web page that includes
financing information, such as the lowest potential monthly payment
for financing the presently depicted collateral. In other
embodiments, the add-on 204 may be represented by a simple button,
or may contain additional information, such as the name of the
finance provider, potential interest rates, special offers and the
like. In addition, the add-on 204 can contain a link or other
customer selectable feature that allows a customer 102 to obtain
additional information and generate finance offers.
[0029] Turning once again to FIG. 2, the add-on 204 can be provided
to a vendor by the PPS 100, generated by the vendor itself, or via
the third party website, such as an authorized reseller of the
services. In embodiments, a pre-defined standard for the add-on 204
is set by the PPS. Such standard can include specification of
communications between the add-on 204 and the remainder of the PPS
100. In other embodiments, the individual add-on 204 utilizes
unique identifiers that identify the relevant vendor, the
appropriate finance program data as previously defined by the
vendor, the third party website, and/or the PPS 100.
[0030] In other embodiments, collateral data may be contained
within the add-on 204, and passed to the rest of the system 100
upon selection of the add-on 204 by a customer 102. Alternatively,
a unique identifier can be provided for identifying the collateral
data based on data provided to the PPS 100 by the vendor 106, third
party website and/or an outside data provider. In an embodiment,
the add-on 204 generates a general button or feature that informs
the visitor that pre-qualified payments are available if collateral
data 108 is not available on the page where the add-on 204
resides.
[0031] In the illustrated embodiment, the PPS 100 includes a
Pre-qualified Payment Quoting Module ("PPQM") 208. Here, the PPQM
208 receives customer data, such as a customer's credit score or
file. The PPQM 208 can request credit information from a credit
data provider 104 using any available method of data retrieval.
Customer credit information may be provided to the PPS 100 by a
credit data provider 104, such as a credit reporting agency, the
vendor, a third party website, or an outside data provider.
Additionally, the PPQM 208 receives collateral or item data using
any web standard method of data retrieval from the vendor 106, a
third party website, or an outside data provider. In one embodiment
the PPQM 208 retrieves the item data from the vendor 106 via a web
standard method of data retrieval, in one embodiment the PPQM 208
performs a remote function call on a server operated by the vendor
106 to obtain the item data. In another embodiment the PPQM 208
accesses a data store to obtain item data via an Application
Programming Interface (API). In still another embodiment the PPQM
208 obtains a portion of the item data from the vendor 106, such as
a unique identifier--SKU or serial number and purchase price
details, and secondary item data from yet another source, such as a
credit-risk or loss exposure profile associated with the item.
[0032] In certain embodiments, the item and customer information
includes data regarding the potential sales tax from a transaction.
The customer information can indicate the geographic location of
the sale (e.g., address or zip code). As shown in FIG. 3, the
customer 102 is prompted to enter a zip code. In combination with
the item price, the system 100 calculate potential sales tax based
upon sales tax rate information for the particular geographic
location.
[0033] In embodiments, the PPQM 208 includes a finance program data
store 210. As used herein, a data store is a collection of data
(e.g., a database, one or more files). While shown as incorporated
within the PPQM 208, in other embodiments the finance program data
store 210 is independent of the PPQM 208. In embodiments, finance
program data is retrieved by the PPQM 208 from the finance program
data store 210 based upon the particular vendor 106, such that only
those financial programs suitable for the vendor 106 are evaluated
and provided to the customer 102. The financial program data store
210 maintains finance program information which may be previously
specified by the vendor 206 or third party finance provider 108. In
another embodiment, the finance program information is retrieved
from one or more finance providers 108 upon receipt of customer
information. The finance program data includes information
regarding potential finance offers, such as available rates,
conditions on availability of certain offers, and the like.
[0034] In another embodiment, finance program information is
obtained from a third party, such as a manufacturer of the item or
collateral. For example, if the system 100 is used in the context
of car sales, an individual car dealer may act as a vendor 106,
providing item information such as pricing of an automobile to the
system 100. In addition, the automobile manufacturer may provide
additional incentives, rebates or financing offers. Such
information can be utilized by the PPQM to calculate financing
amount and options.
[0035] Utilizing the customer data, the collateral or item data,
and the finance program data, the PPQM 208 calculates an available
finance offer. Finance offers may include the finance source,
payment, term, rate, fees, disclosures, and/or any other relevant
data as defined by the PPS 100, vendor 106, and/or finance provider
108. The PPQM 208 transmits the customer data, collateral data, and
the finance offers to the vendor 106, third-party website, and/or
an outside party. As used herein, transmissions between various
elements of the system 100 are accomplished by means appropriate
for the communication. For example, in one embodiment the
transmission is routed via a secure, web-standard protocol, such as
an HTTPS connection that is established with a secure socket layer
(SSL) connection. Running on top of these network communication
layers in for example is an application to facilitate the specific
transfer of data, such as a web server transmitting web page
information, or in other embodiments, queries being transmitted via
remote function calls.
[0036] In another embodiment, once a customer's credit information
has been obtained and the customer 102 has been pre-qualified for
credit, this information can be used to determine finance offers
for any item presented to the customer 102 on the vendor web site
206. For example, after the customer 102 has received a finance
offer, when viewing alternative items on the vendor web site 206
the add-on 204 can display finance information, including a finance
offer, based upon computations by the PPQM 208. Once the system 100
has received the customer information necessary to obtain the
customer's credit information, the information can be used to
determine potential financing for any number of items, without
requiring the information be reentered.
[0037] Turning now to FIG. 4, an exemplary PPQM customer user
interface 402 is depicted. As shown, the customer user interface
402 can be displayed in a window that overlays the vendor website
206. In other embodiments, the customer user interface 402 is
displayed in a separate browser window. The PPQM customer user
interface 402 allows customers to interact with the PPQM 208
providing customer specific information and obtaining financing
information and offers. As illustrated, the customer user interface
402 can display product or collateral information related to the
vendor products, such as the particular product or collateral shown
on the vendor web site 206 when the customer selected the add-on
204 to view financing information. In addition, the PPQM customer
user interface 402 displays finance offer information. In the
illustrated example, there are four (4) potential finance offers or
options available to the customer 102. In embodiments, these offers
are specific to the individual customer 102 and are provided based
upon the PPQM's 208 analysis of customer information, credit
information and/or collateral information. As described above,
different offers may be made available based upon creditworthiness
(e.g., credit score), and the collateral (e.g., price). In other
embodiments, the customer 102 is able to modify certain factors in
the financing, such as the loan (e.g., 24 months, 36 months, or 48
months), and down payment amount. The customer 102 can adjust these
factors calculating and recalculating monthly payments. In another
embodiment, the vendor can provide one or more messages to be
presented to the customer 102 within the PPQM customer user
interface 402. Here, a message can include text, an image, audio or
a video to be presented to the customer 102. Such messages can be
passed to the PPQM 208 from the add-on. For example, the vendor 106
may include a message providing information on a particular special
or sale being offered by the vendor 106. In a further embodiment,
the vendor 106 can include information on alternative items, such
that the customer 102 can be presented with alternative options and
finance offers related to those alternatives.
[0038] In a further embodiment, the PPQM customer user interface
402 provides a customer with the ability to schedule an appointment
with a sales representative of the vendor 106 to obtain additional
information or complete the contemplated transaction. The customer
user interface 402 can provide a calendar appointment function
allowing the customer 102 to select from available times. In an
embodiment, the vendor 106 can set guidelines regarding the days
and hours available for appointments and place a limit on the
number of appointments at a given time. Alternatively, the PPQM
customer user interface 402 calendar function can be synchronized
with sales representatives' or vendor's calendar tools to schedule
appointments for customers 102.
[0039] With reference to FIG. 5, a flowchart depicting a
methodology associated with pre-qualified payment processing is
illustrated. For simplicity, the flowchart is depicted as a series
of steps or acts. However, the methodologies are not limited by the
number or order of steps depicted in the flowchart and described
herein. For example, not all steps may be necessary; the steps may
be reordered, or performed concurrently and additional steps may be
incorporated in the methodology. However, in one embodiment, the
steps are performed sequentially.
[0040] Turning now to FIG. 5, an exemplary methodology for
providing pre-qualified payment finance offers 500 is illustrated.
Beginning at step 502, the add-on 204 is provided to a vendor 106
for use in the vendor website 206. At 504, the add-on 204 is
incorporated or utilized in conjunction with a vendor or
third-party website 206. In an embodiment, the add-on 204 is
presented as a button or link prompting the user to select the
add-on 204 for information regarding potential financing offers. In
embodiments, the add-on 204 is customized based upon the particular
items or products currently displayed on the vendor web site 206.
Alternatively, a general offer of financing information may be
displayed via the add-on 204.
[0041] Upon selection of the add-on 204 by the customer 102,
information is passed to the PPQM 208. Such information can include
information identifying the vendor 106, item or collateral
information, and customer information. At step 506, a determination
is made as to whether item or collateral information related to the
collateral which the customer was viewing was provided to the PPQM
208. If the collateral information was not provided, the PPQM 208
can provide a collateral information form, prompting the user to
enter collateral information such as price and description.
Alternatively, this information can be requested from the vendor
106. In other embodiments, the PPQM or PPS retains information on
the vendor's products, or collateral. Upon selection by a customer
102, a unique identifier for the particular item is passed to the
PPS system 100, and this identifier can be used to retrieve the
information from a data store.
[0042] After receipt of collateral information, at step 510
customer identifying information is obtained. In certain
embodiments, identifying information is obtained directly from the
customer 102. For example, a PPQM 208 or add-on 204 user interface
can prompt the customer to enter their name, address or any other
information sufficient to identify the customer. In other
embodiments, the vendor 105 can provide customer identifying
information. For example, if customer has provided identifying
information to the vendor 106 for previous transactions or retains
an account with the vendor 106, vendor 106 may supply such
information to PPS 100.
[0043] At step 512, credit information and finance information are
obtained. In particular, credit information can be obtained from
one or more credit providers, such as a credit bureau, or from any
other source useful in determining the creditworthiness of the
customer. In addition, finance program information relevant for the
vendor is obtained. Finance program information may be retrieved
from the finance programs data store 210, or from finance providers
108. In embodiments, the finance programs data store 210 is
periodically updated based upon changes to financing offers
available from various finance providers 108.
[0044] Collateral information and credit information are processed
or matched to available finance programs to generate offers
applicable to the particular customer 102 at step 514. In an
embodiment, finance offers available to the customer 102 are
derived from the set of finance programs maintained by the PPS in
the financial program data store 210 based upon programs offered by
one or more finance providers 108. In another embodiment, the PPQM
208 queries the one or more finance providers 108 based upon
collateral and credit information to obtain the relevant financial
offer information. In an embodiment, at step 516 certain
information related to the potential customer and financing offer
is provided to the vendor 106 by the PPQM 208. Such information can
include customer identifying data and collateral information, such
as information identifying the customer 102 as a individual with an
interest in particular collateral. This may allow the vendor 106 to
follow-up with the customer 102 at a later time if the customer 102
does not complete a transaction during the visit to the vendor web
site 206 or to provide additional item information. In addition,
the credit information, and finance offer information can be
provided to the vendor 106 as well. This would allow the vendor 106
to identify the individual as a potential customer with
pre-qualified financing for the particular product or
collateral.
[0045] At step 518, a determination is made as to whether the
system 100 was able to match the customer 102 to a finance program
based upon the credit information and collateral information. If
not, at step 520 the customer 102 is informed that there is no
financing offer currently available. If yes, then information
regarding the matching financing offer or offers is presented to
the customer 102 at step 524. As shown in FIG. 4, the user
interface may allow the customer 102 to adjust certain factors,
calculating and recalculating monthly payments based upon the down
payment and term of the loan. The process ends at step 526 where
the customer has been presented with the available finance offers,
if any.
[0046] In a further embodiment, the system 100 is able to generate
estimates or establish prices for the trade-in of customer goods.
For example, new and used car buyers frequently sell or trade-in
their existing automobile in the process of purchasing their next
automobile. The value of the trade-in is deducted from the cost of
the automobile to be purchased and thereby effects the amount of
the financing required for such purpose. Accordingly, certain
embodiments of the system 100 are capable of requesting trade-in
information from the customer 102 via the user interface of either
the PPQM 208 or the add-on 204 for use in generating relevant
finance offers. For example, the user interface can display a
request for trade-in information, if any. Customers can be prompted
enter relevant information, such as make, model, year, mileage,
condition, as well as any other information that may effect the
value of the trade-in. For example, customers may be prompted to
answer questions relevant to condition of a trade-in, such as
presence of rust or dents on an automobile, The system 100 can
utilize such information to determine the appropriate value for use
in the financing calculations. For example, the PPQM 208 may
include or access standard used model pricing information (e.g.,
bluebook value or blackbook value), decreasing such standard
pricing based upon high mileage or poor condition. In an
embodiment, the PPQM 208 determines a guaranteed price for the
trade-in, such that as long as the trade-in is consistent with the
information provided by the customer 102, the customer 102 will
receive credit for the guaranteed price upon presenting the
trade-in. In another embodiment, the vendor receives insurance from
the party that manages the PPQM 208 to cover costs if the trade-in
is inconsistent with the condition described by the customer
102.
[0047] FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary computer system 600 that can be
used to implement the PPS 100. As used herein, the term "exemplary"
indicates an example, and does denote a preferred or optimal
sample. The computer system 600 can be a laptop, desktop, server,
handheld device (e.g., personal digital assistant (PDA), smart
phone, etc.), programmable consumer or industrial electronics. As
illustrated, the computer system 600 includes a processor 602,
which can be any various available microprocessors. For example,
the processor 602 can be implemented as dual microprocessors,
multi-core and other multiprocessor architectures.
[0048] The computer system 600 includes memory 604, which can
include volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, or both. Nonvolatile
memory can include read only memory (ROM) for storage of basic
routines for transfer of information, such as during boot or
start-up of the computer. Volatile memory can include random access
memory (RAM). The computer system 600 can include storage media
606, including but not limited to magnetic or optical disk drives,
flash memory, and memory sticks.
[0049] The computer system 600 incorporates one or more interfaces
608, including ports (e.g., serial, parallel, PCMCIA, USB, and
FireWire) or interface cards (e.g., sound, video, network, etc.) or
the like. In embodiments, an interface 608 supports wired or
wireless communications. Input is received from any number of input
devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, joystick, microphone, trackball,
stylus, touch screen, scanner, camera, satellite dish, another
computer system, etc.). The computer system 600 outputs data
through an output device, such as a display (e.g. CRT, LCD, plasma,
etc.), speakers, printer, another computer or any other suitable
output device.
[0050] FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary computing environment for the
system 100. The environment includes one or more clients 708, where
a client 708 may be hardware (e.g., personal computer, laptop,
handheld device, or other computing devices) or software (e.g.,
processes or threads). The environment also includes one or more
servers 702, where a server 702 is software (e.g., thread or
process) or hardware (e.g., computing devices), that provides a
specific kind of service to a client 700. The environment can
support either a two-tier client server model as well as the
multi-tier model (e.g., client, middle tier server, data server and
other models).
[0051] The environment also includes a communication framework 706
that enables communications between clients 700 and servers 702. In
an embodiment, clients 700 correspond to local area network devices
and servers are incorporated in a cloud computing system. A cloud
is comprised of a collection of network accessible hardware and/or
software resources. The environment can include client data stores
708 that maintain local data and server data stores 710 that store
information local to the servers, such as the module library.
[0052] As noted above, the present system and method provides the
ability to quickly and accurately generate pre-qualified finance
offers for customers seeking to purchase an item such as a car,
truck, RV or boat. In the world of online sales, readily adapting
to a potential customer's requirements is critical. Often times a
potential customer has a general idea regarding the nature of the
item the customer desires to purchase, but desires to consider
multiple options that fit that general idea. One of the most
important considerations to almost every customer is item price.
However, many customers, specifically customers that intend to
finance a purchase, are more concerned with the periodic (e.g.,
weekly, monthly or quarterly) payment burden that will be
undertaken, as opposed to the total price for the item being
purchased. With that in mind, online systems have been previously
developed that enable a customer to search for items that meet
certain criteria, such as a monthly payment limit. Unfortunately,
existing systems are not able to accurately provide the customer
with true monthly payment information because such systems are not
able to verify the nature and types of financing offers for which
the customer is qualified. The present system and method provides a
solution to that problem.
[0053] Referring now to FIG. 8, at step 802 a customer enters basic
information, such as Name, Address, Income and desired Payment
Range (e.g., $179-$199 per month) or acceptable Payment Limit
(e.g., no more than $199 per month) for certain collateral the
customer desires to purchase. Included in the customer submitted
payment information may be desired Payment Duration Range (e.g.,
24-36 months) or acceptable Payment Duration Limit (e.g., no more
than 36 months), as well as desired Down Payment Range (e.g., $400
to $600) or acceptable Down Payment Limit (e.g., no more than
$600). In one exemplary implementation, the customer enters the
information directly via a web page interface (e.g., generated by a
vendor web site 206, which may include add-on module 204 that
generates the web page interface). In another exemplary
implementation, a customer assistant may collect and enter the
information for the customer (e.g., in the case of a customer
calling by phone). In this regard, step 802 may take place before
or after the customer has placed other restrictions on the
collateral the customer desires to purchase. For example, prior to
step 802 that customer may have already been presented with a web
page interface (e.g., generated by module 204) that enabled the
customer to identify the acceptable make(s), model(s), year(s)
and/or type(s) of vehicles in which the customer has interest (or
in the case of other types of collateral other information that
will be used to focus a collateral search). Alternatively, such
collateral specifying information could be requested, if at all,
after step 802, or even on the very same web page in which the
basic customer information is requested.
[0054] At step 804 the system queries the credit reporting agency
and retrieves customer credit data. In one implementation,
information is passed (e.g., under control of the module 204) from
the vendor web site to the PPQM 208 for such purpose. If the credit
data is not available per step 806, the PPQM notifies the module
204, and at step 808 the module informs the customer that no
collateral is available to meet the customer's requirements and/or
that sufficient credit data is not available to complete a search.
If the credit data is available, processing moves to step 810 where
the system queries a collateral database 810a for instances of
collateral that satisfy any collateral specifications that have
been submitted by the customer (e.g., the system, via module 204,
passes the customer entered acceptable make(s), model(s), year(s)
and/or type(s) of vehicle information to the database for use in
searching the collateral data store for matching collateral). The
result of the query will return details, including the selling
price, of each item of identified collateral. At step 812, the
system queries a finance program database 812a for all available
finance programs, if any, applicable to each item of collateral
returned in the query of step 810. In one implementation, this step
involves the vendor web site passing (e.g., according to processing
incorporated in the module 204) the results of the collateral query
to the PPQM.
[0055] Based upon the returned collateral items and associated
prices, the applicable finance programs identified as available for
each collateral item and the customer's identified payment
restrictions (e.g., desired Payment Range or acceptable Payment
Limit and/or desired Payment Duration Range or acceptable Payment
Duration Limit and/or desired Down Payment Range or acceptable Down
Payment Limit), at step 814 the system calculates payments for each
item of collateral using the finance programs available for that
item of collateral and identifies any items of collateral where the
finance program and payment meets the customer's identified payment
restrictions. Again, such processing may take place via the module
204. Moreover, the system could also take into account trade-in
information provided by the customer, as described above, to reduce
the price of each item of collateral before calculating the payment
information to be verified against the customer's identified
payment restrictions.
[0056] If at least one satisfactory or matching collateral item and
finance/payment arrangement is identified as per step 816, the
matching collateral items and payment information are provided to
the customer at step 818. In one implementation, the information is
presented to the customer via a web page display generated by the
module 204. In another implementation, the information is printed
and mailed to the customer. At step 820, the customer information,
credit data and collateral information may also be sent to a third
party or parties (e.g., the vendor or vendors of the collateral
items so that the vendor can follow-up with the customer). Per step
816, if no matching collateral items and payment information exist,
at step 808 the customer is informed that no collateral is
available to meet the customer's requirements.
[0057] The foregoing system and method provides the ability to
present customer's with items of collateral that are known to meet
both the customer's collateral specifications and the customer's
payment specifications. Whereas, in the past, systems have
permitted customer's to search for items by payment, the reality
has been that any returned results may not have been truly
available to the customer at those payment terms (e.g., because the
payment assumed perfect credit and the searching customer had less
than perfect credit). Utilizing the pre-qualification system
described above with reference to FIGS. 1-7, the process of FIG. 8
can be carried out in a manner that returns results for the
customer that the customer can truly rely upon. That is, the
customer is not presented with any results that do not meet the
customer's payment specifications, having taken into account the
customer's credit and qualification for available finance programs
that apply to the items of collateral.
[0058] The embodiments shown and described in the specification are
only specific embodiments of inventors who are skilled in the art
and are not limiting in any way. Therefore, various changes,
modifications, or alterations to those embodiments may be made
without departing from the spirit of the invention in the scope of
the following claims.
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